We all worry about our health from time to time, at least to some degree, but some people worry excessively about catastrophic consequences of seemingly benign symptoms. They’re known as hypochondriacs…

People are becoming more likely to believe that high-tech visualising techniques might allow us to see psychopathy in the actual physiology of the brain.
JE Theriot/Flickr (resized)Juni 10, 2014

In the latest instalment of our series Biology and Blame Micol Seigel poses some important questions about the assumptions behind the legal use of fMRI. Of the current uses of psychiatry in legal settings…

Sluggish cognitive tempo is used to describe kids whose attentional deficits are due to low levels of mental energy.
Alec Couros/FlickrApril 29, 2014

Sociology influences medicine more than we like to admit. One only needs to look at the history of psychiatric disorders – a term used broadly here to incorporate developmental disorders – to see how “normal…

We’ve all felt sad, anxious or down at one time or another, but where does the normal experience of emotion end and the clinical picture of a mood or anxiety disorder begin? Psychiatry has two widely used…

The majority of diagnoses for depression, anxiety and PTSD are made by GPs who don’t use the DSM criteria.
Mei 23, 2013

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has copped the predicted criticisms since its release on the weekend. Most centre on the idea that more of us will…

Sufferers of internet disorder might find it starts to impose on real life, such as causing difficulties in socialising.
Flickr/FleMei 20, 2013

Since it was first published in 1952, the DSM has been the has been the diagnostic bible for many psychiatrists. Each time the manual is updated, new conditions are introduced, often amid much controversy…

DSM-5 has been described as the bible of psychiatry but the assumption that professionals use it for their own gain is far fetched.
PAMei 19, 2013

DSM-5, the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, was published in the US at the weekend. Given that not even its most passionate supporters would…

Traditional psychiatry uses the approaches of medicine to try to understand mental health problems and guide treatment. This means relying on diagnosis – identifying what are believed to be mental illnesses…

Medication misuse is out of control in the US and more psychiatric labelling in DSM-5 will not help.
Whale05/FlikrMei 19, 2013

“We are all mad here” explains the Cat to Alice when she wonders about the strangeness of Wonderland. Well, life is starting to follow art. If people make the mistake of following DSM-5, the new diagnostic…

From the time of Plato and Hippocrates, women’s emotions have been attributed to the menstrual cycle. The Greeks believed the womb travelled around the body, causing all manner of ailments – sex and pregnancy…

Many of us feel that our internet use verges on problematic but this is different to addiction.
justingaynorOktober 26, 2012

MATTERS OF THE MIND – a series which examines the clinician’s bible for diagnosing mental disorders, the DSM, and the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition. The term “addiction” is conspicuously…

The cosy relationship between the psychiatry and Big Pharma has come under increasing scrutiny.
Hannah Nicole AspireOktober 25, 2012

MATTERS OF THE MIND – a series which examines the clinician’s bible for diagnosing mental disorders, the DSM, and the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition. In Australia, antidepressant…

It’s normal to have recurring waves of grief after the loss of a loved one but prolonged, severe grief requires treatment.
white ribbonsOktober 25, 2012

MATTERS OF THE MIND – a series which examines the clinician’s bible for diagnosing mental disorders, the DSM, and the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition. Grief is one of the most universal…